[Barra]

Curious if I could sign up for this tour? I live in Boulder Colorado. Thx!

Of course you can, if you qualify for one you are good for all. Adding you now.

 

[Ike1985]

I have received the tour kit, it contains 3 IEMs with various tips and 2 cases. I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to critically listening to them.

 

[gnarlsagan]

Just received the tour package from dannaio, and everything look to be included. Commencing listening. First thing though, do any tips fit comfortably on the barrel of the Aether? The barrel is comically wide, so it seems that all of the included tips require ample force and stretching in order to fit, and once on it looks as though not all of the openings in the tip of the barrel are adequately exposed. I'm afraid the sound will be affected. Even Comply Tx-500 is not wide enough.

Edit: I found an old black pair of biflanges that I used to use with the Aurisonics Rockets that fit great. My note about the included tips stands however.

 

[Overkill Red]

Right, here are my impressions of the Aether.
I only really listened to the Aether as my other CIEM, the HUM Pristine Reference and the Zeus XR Adel, are horrible reference points for the LE2 and LE3SW, and I wanted to do a comparison and not just plain description of sound.

I'll be the Aether to the Pristine as the Zeus is just in another completely different price range.

The Aether is quite an interesting IEM. Without the bass switch on it's a polite, neutral (slightly bass light for my tastes) and engaging IEM. It sounded like someone took a HUM Pristine and made it less reference and more fun.
Bass had decent texturing and fast decay (less than the HUM Pristine), neither forward-nor-recessed mids that were clear sounding (more neutral than the HUM Pristine and less aggressive), and nicely extended and engaging treble (brighter and more aggressive than the HUM). I quite enjoyed it's sound! It was very enjoyable to sit back and listen to music with the Aether, which definitely sounds like it was made more for high-quality enjoyment than critical listening.

Turn the switch on, and the bass REALLY kicks in. No doubt about it now: these IEMs are for having fun.
The switch gives a boost, according to Music Sanctuary, in the 20Hz to 400Hz range up to 20DB, with a slight boost at 10kHz. These come together to make the Aether slightly V-shaped.
In this configuration, the Aether definitely is more exciting in the bass and treble than the Pristine, at the cost of a slightly weaker midrange due to occasional bleed of the bass into the midrange (nothing too serious though, honestly).

Overall, I'm very impressed by the Aether. If I had to consider between the Pristine and the Aether before, I would have a very hard time and may have gone for the Aether due to it simply being more enjoyable and versatile.
In my experience so far, I definitely would put the Aether as one of the top 3, if not the top, CIEMs under $2000USD. Excellent job, Lime Ears!

Additional shoutout to Barra for organizing the tour. Cheers man!

 

[He Is Emil]

Just received the tour package from dannaio, and everything look to be included. Commencing listening. First thing though, do any tips fit comfortably on the barrel of the Aether? The barrel is comically wide, so it seems that all of the included tips require ample force and stretching in order to fit, and once on it looks as though not all of the openings in the tip of the barrel are adequately exposed. I'm afraid the sound will be affected. Even Comply Tx-500 is not wide enough.

Edit: I found an old black pair of biflanges that I used to use with the Aurisonics Rockets that fit great. My note about the included tips stands however.

Yes, I know that Aether nozzle is pretty big - I'm aware of that but apart from slight discomfort it might cause during tip changing it serves at least two purposes:
- There are three sound bores of which hi-mid bore needs to be 2mm wide to maintain the HF as it was meant to be. Bores take a lot of space and there has to be some acrylic around them not to make them too fragile
- The deeper insertion of the test unit the closer to the CIEM sound you will get (that's why nozzles are fairly long). And it's better for the tip not to slip - fat nozzle and grooves kind of prevents that from happening.

As about bores: exposition of two smaller sound bores (sub and low/mid) is not crucial at all since waves they are emitting (<1kHz) are long enough (>13 in.) that they are easily diffracted around such small obstacles as edge of eartip. I noticed that exposition of the HF bore seems to affect high frequencies. But again it's also about spatial relationship to the eardrum so if ones ear canal is bent it will be perceived differently than by somebody with straight canal. So it's hard to say what has bigger influence - eartip or ear canal shape.

Anyway few people I know (including my humble self ) happen to get deepest insertion and best seal and comfort with tips provided. But yeah, trying some other tips is definitely worth doing!

We went through at least half a dozen of types of demo unit enclosures and so far this one seems to serve the purpose best. Yes I know but different tips, ear shapes etc. - it all can change the experience. Good news is that while still most make the decision after auditioning demos and there wasn't a single case when after receiving CIEM somebody said: "Oh, I'm disappointed. It's not the sound I was expecting, demo sounded totally different." It was rather: "I got the point with the demos and CIEMs I got sound at least that good or even better than I expected."

 

[DWbirdseye]

I just recieved the tour kit and the 3 iems are in good condition with no apparent flaws - also recieved an assortment of tips. Looking forward to some indepth listening.

 

[DWbirdseye]

To Emil, Barra and all other tour participants. I received the package this last Saturday, and unfortunately cracked a rear molar on Monday. Consequently I was not able to spend any quality time with the iems. Another problem is that I have very narrow ear canals which can present a problem with the fit. I did however have an opportunity to spend a little time with the Aether which I enjoyed. My initial impression was that this is a very good all
rounder with a warmish, organic presentation, and I like the bass switch which in essence offers a two in one sound sig. The tour package has been forwarded to drbluenewmexico. Thanks!!

 

[drbluenewmexico]

Lime Ear package received successfully at one pm today. unpacked but yet unlistened will ship ear tips back on monday per request. thanks for safe shipping and
looking forward to hearing them later this afternoon and tomorrow!!!

 

[muffins]

It might be a little late, but I'd like to be added to the tour; and of course I agree to the terms

 

[Barra]

It might be a little late, but I'd like to be added to the tour; and of course I agree to the terms

added

 

[PareZIVale]

Just received the tour pieces from Ike1985, all appear to be in good condition and I look forward to trying them out!!!

 

[PareZIVale]

I would appreciate if someone could tell me who is next on the tour list so I can message them, the list is a little confusing for me at the moment.

 

[Barra]

I would appreciate if someone could tell me who is next on the tour list so I can message them, the list is a little confusing for me at the moment.

It is a bit confusing. Looks like there has been some skipping around perhaps due to unavailability.

My suggestion is to PM @Aleatorius, @Finatic, and @mrstrangeguy giving preference to the person with the largest number and DRBLUE do the same with preference going to the smallest number so you both are moving toward the middle of the country. Once these names are gone, both kits move to the late comers list PM'ing 3 again, and giving preference to the smallest number.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/l...-starting-february-2017.833886/#post-13220213

 

[PareZIVale]

Shipped off to @Aleatorius on Monday, thanks for the opportunity to try these out.

 

[Aleatorius]

Just got home to find the tour kit already here, I've opened and everything appears to be fine, I'll update with some quick impressions later.